Pure Christmas Magic
by CASE iN POiNT
Summary: Tenten can't decide what she and Neji are. But maybe a Christmas party at Sakura's house and some covert mistletoe will not only help her decide, but help the prodigy decide as well. [NejiTen][ShikaIno][SasuSaku][NaruHina]
1. Tree Massacring

**Disclaimage: This goes for the whole story. I do not own Naruto. I wish I did. Merry Christmas.**

* * *

-one-

Hyuuga Neji was cold. It was a general fact. A universal theme, if you will.

All Hyuuga Nejis were cold. But see, that didn't work. Because she only knew one Hyuuga Neji and as far as she knew, he was the only Hyuuga Neji in the entire world.

At least, he was the only Hyuuga Neji in the entire world that would make the two of them stay out into god knows what hour of the night a week before Christmas while the snow was falling to practice and train until they dropped.

Yeah, she was pretty sure there was only one of those in the world. Or at least, she hoped there was only one. Just the mere idea of there being more than one quiet, mysterious, vague, and ingenious Hyuuga Neji made her shiver. And not just from the damn cold.

"Tenten, what are you doing?"

"Huh?"

The air was shooting from his open mouth in little visible clouds of moistness. They drifted up into the space right above his head and were lost as they dissipated. His pale eyes matched the tiny snowflakes as they drifted by. He brushed one away that had gotten a little too close to his face with an impatient swipe of his hand. Then, he said it again.

"Tenten, what are you doing?"

"Oh, sorry."

She turned away from him, flushing and fuming at the same time. Rummaging in her nearly empty leg pouch, she came up with one of the last of her kunai that wasn't buried somewhere in the building white snow at their feet. She flipped it so the handle of it rested in the palm of her freezing bare hand. Her hands were so numb at this point that the coldness of the metal had no effect.

Neji already had his kunai in his hand, point up, muscles waiting. Tenten shifted her frozen feet a couple steps to the right. Neji's eyes narrowed slightly in response to a small, sharp, and cold breeze. That's when Tenten charged.

They fought in a flurry of new and soft snow. They were past the point of exhaustion and fighting on willpower alone. But still he forced her and still she met him. The more he pushed, the more determined she was to not let him beat her. More and more, Tenten was getting into the Rock Lee mindset: beat the stupid byakugan genius into a melting snowball.

He wasn't allowed to use his byakugan at the moment, but that didn't mean Tenten was going to go easy on him. They filled the peaceful and quiet night with harsh breathing and snow crunching. Tenten fought with more and more anger, and less and less reserve. Because this guy, now not even deserving a name, was a jerk. The biggest jerk on the planet, and selfish too. To have the nerve to drag her away from the cheer and bustle and _warmth _of the holidays—a time to relax and be happy—and force her to train with him. It was just ridiculous. It didn't matter now that she had agreed to come, had actually wanted to come. That when she went to open the door and found Neji there standing out in the light falling snow she had nearly exploded with warmth and giddiness.

None of that was important. What was important now was trying to crack that serene and indifferent mask this jerk had on.

Hyuuga Neji, even without the bloodline trait, could tell that Tenten was getting upset. Tenten, the girl that always had a perpetual smile, the one that always trained with him and praised him, the teammate that always managed to keep a cool head even in the face of trouble or danger. Tenten. Was getting upset. At him. At him? Really? No.

The kunai collided together in a disturbingly jarring clash. Neji and Tenten both pulled back at once, shuddering slightly from the loud and unpleasant noise. Then Neji shuffled forward a step, and Tenten charged again.

Was he sensing a bit of anger now? Resentment at having been pulled away from Christmastime preparations to train with him? He did realize it seemed a little selfish, now that he thought about it. But he had been getting restless, and for some reason, training with Tenten helped dispel the extra energy every time. Although he still wasn't sure if it was Tenten or just the training.

But Neji was definitely leaning toward the training.

They were losing control. She was losing control. Then, she finally let go all together. Flipping backwards in perfect form, she landed with her knees bent, back low, and a mess of shuriken in hand. She threw them with all the strength she had left at the pale figure in front of her. He disappeared from the spot, but Tenten was already turning.

She knew this trick. It was so, so old.

Whipping around with kunai outstretched, Tenten clashed into Neji again, just like she expected. She forgot that this was supposed to be just hand-to-hand combat, with one weapon for each person at any given time. She hit him with everything she had left: senbon, shuriken, kunai…

And, of course, the stupid prodigy escaped from every single one. But he was getting tired, a rare trait to see in Hyuuga Neji. Tenten knew, even as her strength decreased proportionately, that she'd have her opening at just about…

…NOW. She spun out in a perfectly placed back kick and before she knew what was happening, she was staggering backward into the cold, cold snow, and her left shoulder was feeling dull and dead.

And from the look on Neji's slightly startled face, what she thought had happened was exactly what had happened.

"I'm sorry," he said flatly, not sounding the slightest bit apologetic. Pins and needles suddenly jerked all up and down Tenten's left arm as her left shoulder regained feeling, chakra flowing through it again. Anger flared up as she got up from the snow, brushing herself off. The glare she gave him could have melted an ice block.

"No you're not," she snapped back. Neji was inwardly stunned, although on the outside no one would have been able to guess. He had made a mistake by letting the byakugan come naturally up to his tired defenses, yes, but that didn't mean she had to snap at him for it.

Actually, the fact that he had to call on his byakugan at all said something about how good of a fighter Tenten was. Even if he was tired.

But none of that penetrated. Neji _had_ been truly sorry. But by the time he resolved to make it clearly known, Tenten was already gone.

**(jingle)**

"Why are you so tired?"

Tenten was sprawled on her bed, staring at her white ceiling. It had been a mistake to invite Hinata over today. Tenten was just no fun.

"Training," Tenten said simply, turning over onto her side to gaze at her pale-eyed friend. Hinata blinked at the girl lying on the bed. Tenten yawned.

"Training? It's nearly Christmas. Why would you train during the holidays?" Hinata's voice was soft, as always, making the questions into a casual inquiry that didn't demand an answer. All her questions were like that. But usually, Tenten answered every single one of them, so it didn't matter.

Except for now. Tenten contemplated the luxury of not responding for about five seconds before opening her mouth. "Ask your damn cousin," she said, and then turned to face the ceiling again.

"N-Neji?" Hinata stuttered. Contrary to popular belief, Hinata didn't stutter on every single uttered word. But she did stutter on a special handful of names. And Neji was one of them. It had never bothered Tenten before. But it bothered her now.

"Why do you stutter when you say his name?" Tenten asked before she thought. Immediately she wished she could take the question back, but she remained still on the outside. Training with Neji all the time did help with learning how to keep emotions below the surface. That was one thing he was useful for.

"I-I…I don't know…" Hinata said, looking away and out the window of Tenten's neat and tidy room. "I…I guess he intimidates me."

Tenten was surprised. She sat up and gazed at the back of Hinata's head. She hadn't expected an answer; an "I don't know" would have sufficed. But a real answer once and a while from Hinata was nice.

"You shouldn't feel intimidated," Tenten said firmly. Hinata turned her head slowly toward her friend, her eyes full of curiosity. Tenten gave Hinata her sweetest smile. "He's not all that cool or strong. He actually used the byakugan against me the other day when he wasn't supposed to."

"Oh my gosh!" Hinata gasped, suddenly reaching out and grabbing Tenten on both arms. "Are you all right?"

"No need to panic, Hinata," Tenten laughed, gently extracting herself from Hinata's iron grasp. "I think it was a good thing. Maybe I'm getting stronger." Hinata exhaled a whoosh of air, causing Tenten to smile at her again as she brought her knees up to her chest. Tenten placed her chin on her knee and contemplated the far wall.

"Do you enjoy training with him, Tenten?" Hinata then asked. Which struck Tenten as an odd question, as she had been thinking about the answer to that one all day. And she still didn't have a concrete one. Those damn Hyuuga Nejis.

"He's all right," Tenten finally decided to say. "But he is definitely the biggest jerk I know," she added after a pause.

**(twinkle)**

"Since when are we having a Christmas party?" Tenten asked, full of skepticism and completely not amused. She had a big basket full of ingredients her mother had sent her to get and she was not too keen on the idea of getting waylaid by the weirdest person on the planet.

"Oh, YEAH YEAH we are!" Naruto gushed effusively. Tenten rolled her eyes, shifting her weight from the right foot to the left. "You're all invited. Even Bushy Brow. If he can move, that is." Naruto gave a low giggle and Tenten had the sudden urge to plant her foot into his face. "It's at Sakura's house and everyone's going to be there. So you better come. See ya!"

Naruto left a cloud of snow in his wake as he zoomed off. Tenten stood still, not moving, processing the new information. Sakura's house? Her parents wouldn't be happy about this…

All the little shops and houses Tenten passed were glowing in red and green florescent lighting for the holiday season. Tenten wasn't feeling too cheerful though. She had been thinking very hard lately, and the thinking was making her sink further and further into depression. Usually, she'd do anything to avoid analyzing too deep, because she knew it would only slow her down. But now she had plenty of time. Time she didn't want or need.

She followed the familiar trail of winking lights, and quickened slightly in anticipation of home, warmth, and maybe even some hot chocolate if she got lucky. But there was someone standing still a little ways away. She tilted her head in question and as she got closer, she realized the person was standing in front of her own decorated house.

And the person was…

"Neji, what are you doing here?"

He had watched her come the whole time. They stood awkwardly a few feet away from each other, the snow swirling around them in the winter wind.

"Hello," he said quietly, his face impassive. Tenten glanced at his eyes and then at her feet. "Are you busy?"

"Kind of," Tenten said. She had been planning to help her mom cook and her dad finish decorating the inside of the house. And to finish wrapping the gifts she had gotten for her friends. But no, she was only "kind of" busy.

Neji didn't say anything. He just looked at her.

"I'll be right out," she said, opening the door and leaving it open, as she dropped off the things that her mother had wanted.

**(sparkle)**

"There's a Christmas party tomorrow."

"Really." Neji threw another kunai at the same tree across the clearing. Once again, the knife sunk into the wood right up to the beginning of the handle, as if the trunk was butter.

"It's at Sakura's house. They even invited Lee."

"Did they now." Neji's reaction to this piece of news was even flatter than Tenten's had been. She watched him take out another kunai and twirl it around his fingers. She found herself glaring at him. She forced herself to glare at the ground instead.

"Are you going to go?" Neji suddenly asked. Tenten tilted her head a little, still looking at the ground.

"I might. Are you going to go?"

"Not if I can help it."

Typical. Tenten couldn't help but utter a little sigh. This was Neji and this was the kind of friendship they had. If she could even call it a "friendship". It didn't feel like one. Sometimes Tenten felt like a punching bag, only needed by Neji when he wanted someone to beat up.

But Tenten never wanted to give him up. Call her crazy, but she held onto their feeble threads of acquaintance. She was always _willing_ to be the punching bag. But lately, she'd been trying to stand up for herself. And her reward for doing so was this ever-growing chasm of silence between her and her teammate.

This was not what she wanted. Without realizing it, she sighed again, loudly. Tenten could feel the lose-lose situation settle over her like a cloud.

"I'll go if you go." Tenten jerked her head up and found Neji watching her intently.

"What?"

Neji reached into his leg pouch and pulled out another kunai. He played with it again, absentmindedly. "You looked upset."

"Okay," Tenten said cautiously, not really sure where he was going with this, but wanting him to continue.

"So I'll go to the stupid party if you go." Neji threw the kunai and it landed in the tree trunk again, extending the perfectly straight line of kunai hilts already embedded. Tenten stared at him in surprise.

"Really?" she said incredulously. Neji glanced at her again and gave a slight nod. Then he turned to look back at the tree he had stabbed to death. "Time to start on a new tree," he commented, shifting a little so his back was to where Tenten was perched on a tree stump.

But Tenten didn't care. She had broken into a bright smile and the light had returned to her face. Had Neji changed, finally? Was he finally ready to loosen up a little and not always be so damn uptight? She wasn't sure, but she sure was hoping.

A dull _thunk_ told her that Neji had resumed his tree massacring.

* * *

**A/N: So, I hope I didn't fail miserably at my first attempt at a Naruto fic. I wanted to do something for the holiday season. Hopefully in this fic the characters will stay primarily in character. It's hard to do realistic romance with Naruto. But I'll try valiantly.**

**This will be a short story. But hopefully it will be sweet enough to rot teeth. :D**

**Feedback would be _much much_ appreciated! Thank you to anyone who took precious time to read it.**

**Until next time...**

**P.S. If you can think of any Christmasy/holiday verbs for me to use as dividers, tell me! I'm already running out. Hehe. O.o''  
**


	2. Ribbon Tangling

-two-

"Hyuuga Neji, going to a Christmas party thrown by Haruno Sakura. Now is that not just a little bit strange?"

"Put a sock in it, Lee," Neji said in a calm, low voice. He was standing at the foot of Lee's bed, watching as his friend slowly slid himself off the blindingly white hospital sheets. Once on the ground, Rock Lee tested the weight of first one foot and then the other before grabbing his clothes from off a chair and going behind a curtained off section of the room.

"I will stop asking if you tell me why."

"Why?" Neji looked around the clean white room as if he could find the answer in a corner somewhere. The bright fluorescent lighting hurt his eyes when he looked directly up into it. "I just felt I needed a little break, that's all. What's so surprising about that?" He squinted at the bed Lee had just been laying on, trying to get rid of the little black spots dancing in front of his eyes.

"It is surprising that Hyuuga Neji needs a break at all, because he usually doesn't break for anything short of a sky that is falling." Rock Lee stepped out from behind the curtain, tying his forehead protector around his waist. He ran his fingers along the metal insignia before straightening up and looking at his teammate.

"Well, maybe the sky will fall tomorrow. Who knows. Now, let's get going." Neji walked to the door and opened it, holding it for Rock Lee to exit his hospital room first.

The first thing Rock Lee did was give a good stretch. "Ohhh yes, it feels good to be outside again." Rock Lee pushed his neck to his left, making it emit a satisfying crack.

"That's disgusting. I hate it when you do that."

"Oh, right, sorry. Forgot. So, tell me, Tenten is going to the party too, correct?"

"I wouldn't be going if she wasn't going."

"Hm? So this is _this_ type of situation, is it?"

Neji gave a quick glance at his green clad teammate. "What type of situation?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I actually don't."

"You like her."

Neji frowned as they exited the hospital completely, coming out into the soft light of close to late afternoon. Rock Lee stopped and took a deep breath of the sharp winter air. Neji waited for him patiently, turning over the three words Rock Lee had just said.

"No I don't," Neji said when they started walking again.

"I disagree."

"She was upset, all right? She seemed tired and sad so I told her that I would go if she went."

"In other words, you wanted to make her happy."

"I guess."

"And if that's not caring about someone, what is?"

"I wouldn't know anymore than you would, Lee."

Rock Lee made an indignant noise in his throat. "Are you insulting me?"

Neji turned his head away and rolled his eyes. "No, Lee, I would never insult you," he said flatly, infusing the sentence with inner sarcasm.

**(sing)**

Tenten watched the drama-in-the-making scene with interest.

"Shikamaru, let ME wrap the ribbon around the staircase!"

"Let go, Ino. I've got it!"

"You're just going to screw it up!"

"How the hell do you know?"

"Because you're a _guy_ and I'm a _girl_."

"Does that prove anything?"

"Girls are better at decorating than guys are. Now LET GO!"

Tenten smiled. She liked the fact that she had volunteered to decorate Sakura's house for the holiday bash more and more. With Ino and Shikamaru present, it was fairly guaranteed that at least she would be entertained.

"Ow, that was my foot!"

Ino and Shikamaru were tangled together very cutely in a mess of red and golden ribbon. Ino was attempting to wrestle Shikamaru to the ground as she ripped the ribbon spool from his grasp, while Shikamaru was just trying to escape any major injuries. The reason why they both wanted to decorate the stairs so much escaped Tenten's mind, but the absurd fight was funny to watch.

Ino's leg moved behind Shikamaru's and then she pushed her weight forward. Immediately Shikamaru almost crashed backwards onto the carpeted floor, only to save himself by pulling very hard on the ribbon that Ino was also pulling very hard on, but in the opposite direction. Ino made a noise of protest and let the ribbon go in a moment of quick and smart thinking. Shikamaru then toppled over, but since he was still pulling a handful of ribbons, Ino went down with him.

"HEY! You jerk!"

"That was _not_ my fault!"

Now the both of them were a mess of flailing arms and legs and red ribbon, with Ino desperately trying to get up off of Shikamaru's chest. Tenten covered her mouth with one hand, smiling as they got angrier and angrier. Then Sakura walked in and the look on her face was priceless.

"Oh god, what are they doing?"

"I have no idea," Tenten lied through her covered mouth. She watched as Sakura stomped over, and started screaming.

"What do you think you are doing? If you volunteer to come and help me decorate the house, then DECORATE THE HOUSE INSTEAD OF FLIRTING WITH EACH OTHER, FOR GOD'S—"

Then the front door opened behind Tenten. She turned at the gust of cold air and saw Neji and Rock Lee standing in the doorway, looking very disoriented. They stepped farther into the room and as Rock Lee closed the door, Neji spotted the tangled mess. Even though his face hadn't moved a muscle, his voice changed to disgust and amusement. "What are they doing?"

"Bonding," Tenten answered with a smile.

"Sakura is scary when she yells," Rock Lee remarked timidly, shuffling so he stood behind Neji.

Tenten's smile widened as she turned back to the Christmas tree, her arms heavy with golden garlands as she strung them along the branches.

**(laugh)**

Under the multitude of twinkling strands of Christmas lights all over the house, the red ribbon lined with golden thread that wrapped around the staircase looked beautiful and richer than it actually was. The party was in full swing and, for all the trouble it was worth, only one person had said anything about it.

"What a pretty shade of red," Hinata had said when she passed by.

The ribbon was forgotten and unnoticed, but the episode that Ino and Shikamaru had with it was far from quiet. They were sitting as far apart from each other as they could, one on the far end of one of the two couches Sakura had in her living room, and the other on the far end of the other couch. Both were scowling as Sakura, sitting in the middle where the two couches met at a ninety-degree angle and surrounded by curious people, made fun of them in a loud, raucous voice. Both Ino and Shikamaru, of course, occasionally voiced up words of dissent, but they were usually shouted down in the favor of making fun of them some more.

Tenten had lost interest though. She had seen the thing first hand already and was not too keen on listening to five more retellings. She glanced about the spacious living room instead from her perch on the back of one of the couches. She liked Sakura's house, she decided, before she moved on to watching the people that had come.

First there were the silent people. Hinata, Shino, Sasuke, Neji, and herself. Then there were the loud people, which consisted of everyone else. All the loud people were congealed at the center of the living room, which was where the couches were. Then the quiet ones were dispersed at random intervals from each other and random lengths from the center of the room.

Then she observed the positions that people were in, in relation to other people. Ino and Shikamaru were far away from each other, a given. Hinata was pretty far away from Naruto, who was busy trying to scoot closer to Sakura. Sasuke was busy sighing in a remote corner, so he was a distance away from Sakura, although she looked over at him often in what she thought was a discreet manner. Rock Lee was on the other side of Sakura, much to her apparent chagrin. And Neji was…where was he?

Tenten swiveled her head back and forth until finally she turned to look behind her. And there he was, leaning against the wall a few feet back from the couches, pale eyes on the ground. But when she finally spotted him, he lifted his face and his eyes found hers. Startled, she held his gaze for a few seconds and then quickly turned away. But she did catch the small smile that had started to form on his lips before she looked back forward.

"All right, Sakura, I've had just about enough," Ino screeched after she was the butt of another joke that got the whole company laughing. She stood up, upsetting some chips that flew out of a chip bowl that had been resting partly in her lap and partly in Choji's lap. He grabbed at the chips as she stomped over to Sakura and took hold of her arm.

"Hey…" Sakura protested with a grin, "what are you…?"

"We're having a private conference," she said, glowering pointedly at the boys. They all laughed and scoffed, jeering about coming along with them too.

For lack of anything better to do, Tenten slid off the back of the couch she was sitting on and followed the two, with Hinata close on her heels. As Tenten passed Neji, she could feel his eyes on her and it made her shiver. She didn't know if it was a good shiver or a bad shiver.

"So you really might like him?" Sakura was asking Ino as Tenten and Hinata rounded the corner to where they were hidden.

"Who?" Tenten inquired, curious, "Shikamaru?"

"SHUSH SHUSH SHUSH," Ino said, quite loudly for the word meaning to quiet down. "You guys don't ever give me a break, do you?"

"We try our best," Sakura said with a sly grin. Ino turned on the pink haired girl, glaring at her with flaming daggers in her eyes.

"Hey, I was just trying to get caught up on the situation," Tenten justified herself innocently. "You don't want me saying the wrong thing out there. Besides, we were all under the impression that both of you," –she indicated with her head at Sakura and Ino— "were completely in love with Sasuke." Tenten couldn't help adding a bit of mockery into her voice. Because, seriously, what good was that emo loser?

"Well, _I_ am," Sakura confirmed confidently, glancing at Ino.

"I don't know…" Ino mumbled, looking at her bare feet. "I'm so confused."

"Well, I can see why you kind of like Shikamaru. He's a nice guy and all," Sakura said, looking up at the ceiling and helping Ino analyze the situation.

"Yeah, but he's lazy."

Hinata looked up at her slightly taller friend and Tenten looked at Hinata as well. They both shrugged and turned to look back at the other two. Tenten really didn't get this whole complicated boy business. It seemed kind of childish and lame to her. The fact that you could change who you had feelings for on a whim was a bit crazy and made the whole thing a bit superficial.

"Aren't all guys lazy?"

"You got a point there."

"Neji isn't lazy," Tenten blurted out before she thought. Hinata gave a sharp, startled glance at her friend. Tenten could feel her heart wilt. Now she'd never hear the end of it…

And by the looks on Sakura and Ino's face, the end for her was beginning.

"Oh really?" Sakura remarked casually. "I never paid much attention to Neji. Do you, Ino?"

"No. Why do you bring him up, Tenten?"

"I was just saying. As an example," Tenten said, trying to keep cool while racking her brain with good deflecting remarks and potential white-lies. She could think up one brutal deflector involving Hinata and her little crush on Naruto, but that'd be terribly mean. She'd rather take the brunt of their little teasing game than to have Hinata deal with it.

"Really? An example?"

"Well," Tenten said off-handedly, "he _isn't_ lazy."

"Tenten is right," Hinata suddenly spoke softly. She smiled and it was small but completely sugar and heart melting. "N-Neji is probably not even as lazy as me."

Tenten could see that Sakura and Ino were both smiling because Hinata was smiling. Tenten was as well. Hinata was so cute and shy, but so lovely at the same time. However, the peaceful and cute moment did not last. Ino immediately rounded back on Tenten, much to her annoyance.

"Well, I'm thinking that you guys have got something going."

Tenten raised her eyebrows. "Who?"

"You and Neji."

"We do not."

"He was practically staring at you the whole time back in the living room," Sakura stated with her sly smile back in place.

"No he wasn't," Tenten refuted confidently. Even so, she could feel the heat in her cheeks involuntarily rise. "You were too busy making fun of Ino to notice."

Ino looked at Sakura with a haughty look on her face, as if she had just won some small victory against her pink-haired opponent. Sakura stuck her tongue out at Ino in a very mature way.

"Well, you're blushing, so you must like him at least a little," Ino said, ignoring Sakura's attempted insult. "You know what? I even bet you ten bucks that you two will be under the mistletoe before Sakura and Sasuke are."

"There's mistletoe?" Tenten asked in horror at the same time Sakura exclaimed, "Ino, you pig!" and slugged her in the arm.

"Ow, Sakura, don't _hit _me, for goodness sakes," Ino said, glaring at Sakura again. Then she continued, turning brightly toward Tenten, "It's a bet then?"

"What? No!" Tenten exclaimed. Too late. Sakura and Ino were already striding briskly toward the living room again. Tenten followed them miserably with Hinata by her side. The loud male voices rose in volume like a wave before them.

"Your favorite people are back!" Ino declared, flouncing grandly back toward the couch only to find her previous seat taken. "Monsters!" she then called the boys, grabbing a nearby pillow and whacking Choji over the head with it. "Scoot over, snack boy! Give me back my seat!" She emphasized each word of her last sentence with a hit from the pillow against Choji's head.

Bad idea.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much to my seven reviewers and the other people that checked this story out (yes, I'm thanking those who essentially linked on this story's link, hehe). I couldn't resist updating this one again quickly (usually I take a while), but this one is a short story, so I guess I'll make an exception.**

**Sorry to not take your idea, Luna Forest, but this chapter only had two dividers anyway. Meh.**

**I'm working on a Ino x Shikamaru story right now. Just so y'all know.**

**This story will end next chapter. Tear tear. T.T**

**So please give me feedback. I'm not begging for reviews. I just want feedback to make my writing better. Thank you, again, for all those that did give me feedback for the last chapter. :D**

**So, until next time...  
**


	3. Uh oh, Gambling

-three-

Pretty soon the place was a battlefield. Pillows of all different sizes and colors flew through the air, hitting intended targets, unintended targets, friends, foes, the wall, the couch, and the ceiling each in its turn. Tenten and Hinata tried their best not to get killed in the crossfire, but the inevitable happened…inevitably. Tenten was hit right in the chest with a pillow going at full tilt. She squealed in surprise, toppling backward onto the floor behind the couch as she got knocked from where she was sitting. Her back took the full force of the impact.

Hinata had gasped and was carefully lowering herself from the back of the couch to go to her friend. "Tenten, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Ow," Tenten remarked, sitting up and rubbing her now aching back. Then a sudden horrible thought hit her like another pillow flying at full speed. Neji had been standing behind her against the wall. And she was pretty sure he hadn't moved. So if he were still there, he would have seen her…

She turned her head slowly as a pillow went careening over her head. It hit the wall next to a certain figure that she had so hoped would not be there. And he was smiling down at her with the first big smile she'd ever seen him sport.

"It wasn't funny," she whined, trying to appeal to his better nature and trying to cover up her immense embarrassment.

"I would beg to differ," Neji stated as another pillow slammed into the wall on his other side. He didn't even flinch.

"But I'm not letting you beg to differ, so it wasn't funny," Tenten countered cleverly. Suddenly, she drew back against the back of the couch to prevent herself from getting flattened by a blur of orange that yelled, "Come with me, Hinata!" as it sped past. Hinata gave a high-pitched scream as she was dragged off, a hostage of Naruto's.

"Well, she's about to die," Tenten muttered under her breath with a smile.

"What did you say?" Neji asked her. Tenten looked back up at the unflinching one and her smile involuntarily widened.

"Nothing."

"No, I'm pretty sure you said something."

"I didn't say anything. I promise."

Tenten was losing her mind. He looked so nice when he smiled. The world disappeared slowly as she focused all her energy on absorbing his sweet smile, on remembering it for later. Because it was such a rare treat. She just had to save some for after the party when she was alone in her room.

Neji said something that Tenten didn't quite hear. He was still smiling at her. Afraid that he would stop smiling if she said anything slightly disagreeable, she nodded. Besides, it had sounded harmless enough. Until he put on a face of all-knowing wisdom and regarded her with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, so you _were _talking about how you were going to hit me with a pillow? I see."

"What? No, I didn't!"

"But you just nodded your head in agreement."

"I…I didn't quite hear you over the noise."

"Sure you didn't." Sarcasm.

"No, honest!" Desperate pleading.

Tenten was being backed into a corner. Actually, she was being backed into the back of the couch that had been her barricade from the real mayhem behind it. Way to backfire on her. She composed her face in a look of fear as Neji started to walk toward her slowly. A pillow went sailing toward him, but he just caught it with ease. And now he was armed.

"Neji, put the pillow down," Tenten tried to negotiate in a calm voice. "I did not say—"

"You're dead," he whispered in a voice loud enough for her to hear. His eyes narrowed in purpose. Squealing in terror, Tenten lobbed herself over the back of the couch and crashed into the coffee table that was also being pummeled with stray pillows. Her shins throbbing, she ran for her life.

The party had literally exploded all over the house. People were running everywhere, chasing or being chased or just running around screaming for the hell of it, as Choji was apparently doing when Tenten ran past him. As Tenten rounded a corner, she nearly crashed into Kiba as Akamaru yapped in crazy excitement. Tenten slowed and looked over her shoulder once she cleared Kiba. Neji was right behind her and gaining.

Hyuuga Neji didn't really care who saw him now. He had decided that for just this one night, he'd let go. He'd partake in activities done by the group and he would actually let himself _have fun_, for once. He would smile, just to shake things up. And he'd willingly engage in a pillow fight with Tenten.

Hey, at least it _was_ one kind of fighting. Right?

And the fact that he was about to duke it out with Tenten made it all the better. Except she wasn't making it too easy at the moment.

Screeching, Tenten slid around the next corner, barely controlling herself enough to avoid crashing into the far wooden wall. It was a good thing Sakura's house was pretty decent sized, or else Neji would have caught her long ago. As she tried to shift her momentum from sideways to forward, Sakura came barreling down the hallway, squealing in playful fear and full delight. As she whooshed past, Tenten looked in surprise at who was chasing her.

So Uchiha Sasuke had decided to ditch his cool dude demeanor after all. Just for a little while, at least.

But wait, she had a Hyuuga to run from.

It felt like hours, but at last Tenten had found a place to hide and catch her breath. The pillow fight had not decreased in intensity one bit, but she had been a smart girl and run upstairs, a place hardly anyone thought of going to. Tenten was panting like a dog and had a killer stitch in her side. She was sitting on the floor just inside Sakura's open bedroom doorway, hiding her from whoever might decide to come up here. She leaned against the wall and forced herself to breath slowly. In, out, in, out.

She couldn't stop smiling.

And she couldn't have been anymore sure that she had a major, major crush on Hyuuga Neji. In fact, she didn't even try to deny it. It was just there. And she knew it was true.

"Come out. Come out. Wherever you are…"

Speak of the devil. Tenten jumped in surprise and quickly stifled her gasping mouth with a hand. A little bit too late. She tried to breathe calmly through her nose as she crept slowly toward the opening, intent on getting a little peek at the prodigy.

"I can see you with the byakugan, you know."

"Crap!" Tenten accidentally exclaimed and then gave a little gasp of disbelief when she did. She was so dead.

She heard the creaking of floorboards and stood up slowly. Might as well face her death by pillow with a firm resolve. And then the pillow was suddenly thrown into her face, almost knocking her back over.

"Aww, Neji!" she yelled, clawing the pillow away from her face. "You threw it too hard!"

"Did I? I guess I'm just not good at pillow fighting."

"Not as good as me!" Tenten agreed, and charged.

Tenten got to pummel Neji nice and thoroughly for ten seconds before he grabbed the pillow in mid swing and somehow got a hold of her wrists as well. Tenten and Neji then wrestled for the weapon and for, in Tenten's case, freedom of movement. That went on for about ten more seconds. Then they both just stood still, panting and smiling.

"It's nice," Tenten found herself saying without thinking.

Neji straightened up completely and gazed at her calmly, although he was still grinning. "What's nice?"

"Your smile," she said. And smiled.

Hyuuga Neji was stunned. This had to be just about the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him. His smile? His smile was nice?

Tenten was amazed to detect a faint trace of pink that was forming on Neji's cheeks. She realized what a fragile, awkward, and beautiful moment they were having, and she reveled in it. She suddenly had the overwhelming urge to reach up with her fingers to touch his slightly pink cheeks. And she was about to.

But she never did.

"Shikamaru, you turd. Stay away from—oh my god, Tenten. A-A-And Neji."

The moment was now definitely over. Tenten's heart sank as Neji instinctively stepped away from her, creating a tangible distance. Their heads had both turned toward the stairs at the same time to be greeted by an obnoxious girl with a long blonde ponytail. Her wide eyes stared at them for a second, not even moving when a certain Shikamaru bumped into her from behind. Then she started squinting in a naughty smile.

"Looks like you owe me ten bucks, Tenten," she stated in victory.

"What?" Tenten asked, completely confused.

"Look up," Ino said with a grin.

Tenten and Neji looked up at the same time above their heads to find the worst possible thing. Taped to the ceiling was a fresh sprig of mistletoe.

They could only stare at it for a moment. Ino laughed loudly and started back down the stairs, calling over her shoulder, "I want those ten bucks, Tenten!" as she went. Tenten's eyes slid reluctantly down to Neji's face, and she found him looking at her. With no smile. And cold, cold, pale eyes.

Uh-oh.

Tenten started to explain quickly, her words not seeming to come out fast enough. Tenten was suddenly breathless and she didn't know why. "Look, Neji, it's really not what you think it is. Ino—"

"And you don't think at all," he cut in sullenly. Tenten was taken aback at how cold he was all of a sudden. She lost track of all thought as he walked away from her.

**(love)**

"You are an idiot,_ idiot_, IDIOT," Tenten cursed herself as she plunged through the cold and nearly empty streets of her beloved village. The sky was already black in night and the stars were twinkling merrily at her, matching the winking Christmas lights of the shops and houses she passed. But she was feeling anything but jolly.

The path she was following she knew well. At just the right moment, she cut into the forest and followed the familiar footpath she traveled quite often, just usually not alone. The physical path was almost completely gone underneath fresh white snow, but the mental path was clear and straightforward. Hands already frozen in her jacket pockets, she plunged into the snowy clearing and looked around, her breath coming in visible puffs in front of her mouth and nose.

And there he was.

_Thank god._

Hyuuga Neji did what he always did when he wanted to let off steam by himself. He massacred trees. There were many with neat little slot marks, all the same size and shape and all down in a perfectly straight line. He didn't gain any technical skills, really. Somehow it had just become his venting mechanism.

At the moment, he was throwing kunai faster than he ever usually did when he came to the forest to massacre trees. He didn't know why the fiasco at the party had him this riled up. Maybe he had let himself think there was something between him and Tenten. Something he was afraid to uncover but something he loved the feeling of. He had, for the first time in his memory, felt light and warm. It had been so nice.

But it had all been a bet, right? A bet to get him under the fucking mistletoe.

"Neji?"

Her voice was soft and quiet. _Weak_, Tenten thought and cringed. Neji had stopped flinging kunai with enflamed passion. He just stood still, his back to her, his bare arms limp at his sides. She had always marveled at his apparent immunity to the cold. It was crazy, but she had never seen him shiver. Not even once.

Neji's heart nearly melted. Voice of an angel was calling to him and he was still too worried about reputation and image and ego to turn around. "What?" he answered her. His voice was icy to match the slight breeze.

"The bet was a joke," Tenten began, not wasting any time on an introduction. "Ino thought I liked you and was making fun of me for it. She said that she bet you and I would be under the mistletoe before Sakura and Sasuke were." Funny how it was almost easier to explain if she pretended she didn't care. "It was a stupid…thing. Ino likes to—"

"Do you?"

Tenten was startled. She looked up from the mound of snow she had been staring at to look at Neji's back. "Do I what?"

There was a long pause. A pause full of expectation and suffocation. Tenten was holding her breath.

"Do you like me?"

Tenten let her breath out with a whoosh. She averted her eyes again as she felt a blush creeping over her face.

"I-I…" Tenten stuttered, wondering frantically whether she should tell or not. "I don't know."

Neji's feet made crunching sounds in the snow. Tenten looked back at him and found that he had turned back around to face her. "I-I like you as a friend, obviously," she amended stupidly.

"But that's not the kind that Ino meant, was it?"

Tenten shook her head slowly. "No, it wasn't."

"So you don't know?" Neji had started walking toward her, step by step by step. She watched his feet as they came closer and closer and closer and finally stopped. They were as close as they were before, when they had been under the mistletoe and Ino hadn't come yet.

Slowly, Tenten's eyes drifted up to Neji's. His gaze was comforting and steady. She could feel her tightened muscles starting to relax.

"If you do, I do," he said softly.

Tenten just stared at him.

She must have heard him wrong.

She must have.

Must have.

"What? Sorry, I don't think I quite heard…"

"If you do, I do," he repeated. A small smile was starting to grow on his lips. "Tenten, do you like me?"

A blush was raging all over her face like a rash, but she didn't care. At all. "Neji, I think I love you."

"I owe you a kiss, don't I? From standing under the mistletoe?" Neji asked her, a sly smile on his lips.

"You know, I think you do," Tenten said, looking up at him straight in the face, smiling as well. They were so close together. So close.

He leaned forward and she closed her eyes.

Their first kiss was short and sweet. But when they pulled away and looked at each other again, they knew it was pure magic.

Maybe even pure Christmas magic.

"Wanna head back to the party?"

"Sure. How much you wanna bet that Hinata's fainted by now?"

"Oh, I don't know. But I'm sure Ino and Shikamaru have gotten under the mistletoe. They've been flirting all day, for goodness sakes."

"I'll bet you ten bucks that Sakura will be screaming when we walk in."

"Deal."

* * *

**A/N:**** -theme music plays- TA DA! There's your Christmas feel-warm-and-fuzzy story. I'm so happy that so many people liked it. I know it's a week before Christmas still, but you can always read it again. c:**

**I would write out all the names of my reviewers, but I'm afraid I might get in trouble for that. So...um, just a big THANK YOU to all of you. I send my love and sparkly Christmas confetti to you all.**

**There is a very small possibility that I'll extend this for another chapter or two focusing on other characters, but I really just wanted it to be a NejixTen fic. If anyone has a very eager and inspired idea, you can always send it to me and I'll think about it. Tee hee.**

** So, I guess just look out for my stories in the future and check them out. And that's all!**

**Until NEXT TIME...**

**(I wish you a very happy holidays!)  
**


	4. Snow Sprinkling

**A/N & a brief disclaimage: A lot of people wanted some more of the holiday fun, so I decided to add a chapter. I thought it up yesterday morning and thought it'd be cute. This chapter is dedicated to Shikamaru and Ino! Yay!**

**I also don't own the song "For You I Will (Confidence)" by Teddy Geiger. I thought up this scene while listening to that song and it's one of the cheesiest I have. So jingle on, my good friends!  
**

* * *

**.:a holiday add on:.  
**-four-

"Would you look at that? Kiba has found the sound system."

Ino was leaning on the staircase railing, watching as the chaos around her calmed down compared to what it had been a few minutes ago. It did help that Neji and Tenten had left the house to do who knows what, but perhaps the fact that she had stopped running around also helped.

"Should we be worried?" Shikamaru asked in a very unworried voice. He was sitting on the stairs next to her, chin in cupped hand and very bored. The pillow fighting had been fun, but now he wasn't in the mood. Chasing Ino around the house was too much work.

"Maybe," Ino replied absent-mindedly, watching as Kiba fiddled with the stereo's dials and knobs. Static came on over the speakers, but after some more fiddling, a barely audible tune came on over the radio. A triumphant smile spread across Kiba's face and he yanked the volume knob to full blast. Ino nearly toppled over onto Shikamaru as guitar chords thundered through the house.

_What an idiot. Does he want all of us to go deaf?_ Shikamaru sighed and jammed his hands over his ears, getting up and watching as Ino wobbled unsteadily on the stairs. She soon covered her ears as well, turning to him with a face that said, _"What an idiot! Does he want all of us to go deaf?!"_

"_I'm going outside,"_ Shikamaru mouthed to Ino. She screwed up her face in a classic, _"What?"_ expression.

"_I'm going outside!"_ he tried again. No luck. She shook her head and looked dumbfounded. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and gave up, going down the stairs anyway and heading for the door. He wondered what the neighbors thought of this ruckus. They probably weren't too fond of it, he guessed accurately.

_Wondering the streets in a world underneath it all  
Nothing seems to be  
Nothing tastes as sweet as what I can't have_

When he opened the door, there was a blast of cold winter air that almost drove him back into the house. He shivered, goose bumps forming on his bare arms. But it was either deafening music or freezing cold.

He chose the freezing cold.

He stepped out of Sakura's house and took a deep breath, rubbing his arms rapidly to try and get warmer. Just as the door was about to swing shut behind him, deadening the loud guitar and vocals, Ino plunged through the door.

_Looks like I'm not going to have peace after all,_ Shikamaru thought, sighing at his own tragic luck. But he wasn't so sure that her coming out to join him was such a tragic thing. Lately…he didn't know what was going on with him. Whenever Ino came around…

Was it nerves? Probably not. Shikamaru didn't recall ever feeling nervous in his entire life…not admittedly, at least.

Was it fear? Yes. No, in actuality, he had to say it wasn't. Ino was bossy enough, but she wasn't scary.

Was it hormones?

Now that was an interesting idea he had never explored before…

Until now.

_Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair 'round your finger  
Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you  
What I feel about you_

"What do you think you are doing? You didn't tell me you were going to ditch the party."

Shikamaru scowled. "I _tried_ to tell you but you didn't get it."

"Oh, so _that's_ what you were trying to say…"

"And I didn't ditch the party. I ditched the music."

"Yeah, Kiba went a bit overboard with that," Ino said, sitting down on the freezing step leading to Sakura's door. "I like the song that's playing though."

"Cheesefest," Shikamaru scoffed, dismissing it scornfully.

Ino made an indignant noise. "Well, excuse me, but I like it."

"That's because you don't know what true music is. You only listen to the crappy, commercialized, plastic stuff."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Plastic music?"

_Well, I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
And cannonball into the water  
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will  
For you I will_

Shikamaru sighed again and sat down next to her. "Not literally. I mean, it's completely geared toward the masses. It's just like any other song in its genre. Nothing new and nothing unique. Completely predictable."

"Geez, well I'm sorry I mentioned it," Ino said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking out at the snowy street.

_Forgive me if I st-stutter  
From all of the clutter in my head_

She started to sing to the song softly, which was the last thing Shikamaru wanted. He had left the house to escape the music. But her voice was pure and her singing was nice, not all off key like some other girls that thought they could sing, but really couldn't. He leaned his head back against the closed door and gazed upward. Then he started thinking about his problem all over again, listening to the words of the song and…

'_Cause I could fall asleep in those eyes  
Like a water bed  
Do I seem familiar?  
I've crossed you in hallways a thousand times_

Infatuation was not something that Shikamaru was foreign with. He had never experienced it before, exactly, but his father had tried explaining it once. Obviously he had done a terrible job ("Shikamaru, if you ever are with a girl and feel all sweaty and nervous, so nervous that you might just die, do not panic…"), but it had gotten the point across.

Shikamaru watched as his breath trailed upward into the air. He had tried to escape the music for more than just its extreme volume or its cheesiness. He had tried to muffle his ears to the words of the song. Those words were ones that he really should take into consideration, but he just really didn't want to.

_Too much damn work. And how do you know that she won't freak out and run away, huh, tough guy? She's an attractive girl with probably a line of guys at her door. You're nothing special at all compared to _Sasuke_, or some other emo freak with just a pretty face…_

"Hey look!" Ino suddenly exclaimed, her face starting to tilt upward. "It's starting to snow!"

Then, Shikamaru panicked.

_No more camouflage  
I want to be exposed  
And not be afraid to fall_

"Don't look up!" he yelled at her. She froze and turned to look at him. When she did, she saw a more perturbed Shikamaru than she ever had before in her life.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a little bit curious and a little bit concerned for his sanity.

_Oh, way to go, genius. Now she's going to be suspicious._ "Nothing's wrong," Shikamaru amended stupidly, giving her a weak smile.

Ino's eyebrows raised a little in confusion. "Then why can't I look up?"

"Because…"

"Because…?"

"Because I say so." Shikamaru could have stabbed himself with a kunai. For someone with an IQ off the charts, he certainly was challenged when it came to dealing with girls.

"Because you say so? Because _you_ say so?" Ino laughed as she got up and looked down at him with a defiant smile. "Well, I'm definitely going to look up now." She started to swing her face upward again, her blonde hair jumping at the sudden movement.

"NO!" Shikamaru yelled as instinct took over.

_Well, I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
And cannonball into the water  
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will  
You always want what you can't have  
But I've got to try  
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will_

Suddenly Ino froze, and not of her own free will either. Something felt very wrong with her body. She tried to move her head and failed. She tried to lift her arm and failed. She tried to twitch her finger and failed. Then she realized something.

"Shikamaru, did you…?"

It took Shikamaru a moment to actually realize what happened. One moment he was sitting on the concrete and the next he was standing next to Ino, his shadow attached to hers and preventing her from moving. When she started to speak, he finally caught up with his actions.

_Uh-oh. I'm so dead. _He turned slowly to face her and she turned slowly to face him. Her eyes were wide as they gazed at his face. His face was the essence of regret and apology.

_For you I will  
For you I will  
For you_

"You did!" she whispered, her shock apparent in her face. Her eyes then narrowed in anger. "Shikamaru, you used your shadow possession on me! How could you?" Ino tried valiantly to move her arm to punch him, but, of course, she couldn't.

"I'm sorry?" Shikamaru tried, watching as she stood in immobile rage.

"What's secret is so important that it required the use of your jutsu?" she hissed, glaring at him.

Shikamaru could feel nervousness start to bubble in his stomach. He realized that it was now or never. Tell her how he felt now or just let her live on in ignorance forever. And have her get together with someone like Sasuke.

That last part caused him to frown. He didn't like that idea much.

Shikamaru smiled then, which caused Ino to become more puzzled. He only smiled like that when he was very confident, but just a minute ago he had looked like an unstable psychopath. "I'll let you look up," he said, and tilted his head upward. Ino's head did too and she finally saw…

…a sprig of mistletoe.

_If I could dim the lights in the mall  
__And create a mood, yeah, I would_

"Huh," was the only comment she made. Shikamaru let both their heads down back to where they were. Ino had an odd little smile playing over her lips. "So that little bit of fungi was causing you to display uncharacteristic Shikamaru panic?"

Shikamaru frowned. "Uh…"

"Well, now I'll know what to wave in your face when you get too lazy or too egotistical," she joked. Shikamaru scowled. This wasn't unfolding exactly how he had imagined it would.

Ino realized after a couple seconds that she was forcing laughter to prevent an awkward silence. She let her fake laughs die away and just gazed into Shikamaru's eyes, because, well, that was the only thing he was letting her do. She saw seriousness there and it slowly dawned on her that this wasn't funny to him.

_What is he thinking right now, I wonder? He should have scooted away from me minutes ago, as soon as he saw the mistletoe. But he stayed. And he isn't shrugging it off with some witty comment now. He's just…standing here, controlling my shadow._

While Ino tried to process the moment, Shikamaru was trying to make himself say something, anything. But he was choking up. Nothing was coming out.

_Shout out your name so it echoes in every room  
__Yeah_

"Since when did you start taking petty Christmas traditions seriously?" Ino teased half-heartedly, trying to break the persistent silence.

"Since now," Shikamaru said automatically. He was glad for the talking, as it gave him time to rack his brain.

"I guess the better question is, _why_ are you taking this seriously?"

She got him there. _Damn it. I have to tell her. Right now. I have no time to formulate a plan…man, what a _drag.

"I…" _Just say something, you moron. ANYTHING. SAY ANYTHING. _"I wouldn't be doing this for any other girl."

"What?"

"I mean, I probably would have moved away from…that by now."

"Okay…"

"I wouldn't have stuck around here for so long." Shikamaru was failing miserably and he was painfully aware of it.

And Ino was smiling wide, amused at her stuttering teammate. "So what does that mean?"

Shikamaru couldn't take it anymore. It was just too much pressure. "What do you _mean_, what does that mean? You _know_ what that means! _God_, women are so _troublesome_!"

Ino started to laugh.

_Well, that's what I'd do  
__That's what I'd do  
__To get through to you, yeah  
__I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
__And cannonball into the water_

Shikamaru was irritated now. He was regretting getting himself into his whole stupid business. She could live her whole life in ignorance, for all he cared now. She could _marry_ stupid Sasuke. Shikamaru would make _sure_ not to go to the wedding…

"I know what you mean, Shikamaru," Ino finally said, her laughter dying down. Shikamaru looked at her and saw that her eyes were twinkling with amusement. "You like me."

Shikamaru scowled at her.

"Us girls sometimes just want to hear you say it…as actual proof, you know," she continued. "It makes us feel more secure, almost as if you saying it makes it more true than you implying it. I don't know, just a little pet peeve we have, I guess. Like you and cheesy music."

At the mention of cheesy music, the words of the song seemed to smother Shikamaru's head. It was still going. Hadn't it been more than three or four minutes by now? Shouldn't it have been over? Or was this just an extra long version of the song? Damn Kiba…

"I like you too, you know," Ino suddenly said, her cheeks turning a slight pink.

_I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
__For you I will_

Shikamaru blinked, confused. "But…but what about Sasuke?" He couldn't help but put a little bitterness into that guy's name.

"Sasuke? Oh, Sakura can have him," Ino said dismissively, smiling at Shikamaru. And slowly, he started to smile back.

_You always want what you can't have  
__But I've got to try_

Shikamaru's instinct took over again, and he only realized what was happening when his lips touched Ino's cold ones. He could feel her surprise as she drew back a little, but he need not have worried. Soon she was kissing him back and it gave him an even better feeling than when he had been daydreaming about this moment.

_Muster every ounce of confidence I have  
__For you I will_

He released her from his shadow possession and as soon as he did, she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands draped themselves over her waist and the two of them didn't even stop for air. Nothing mattered in that moment. They were so immersed in each other that they didn't even feel the snowflakes brushing their cheeks.

_For you I will  
__For you I will  
__For you I will…_

**(surprise)**

Tenten felt like she was floating on a sweet cotton candy cloud. Her left hand was in Neji's, their fingers intertwined cozily. She reached up a cold finger to touch her cheek and found that it was burning.

If she got sick from this, it would so be worth it. She gave a shudder of delight.

"You cold?" Neji asked her, stopping in his tracks and pulling her to a stop as well.

"No, of course not," she said. "I'm just happy, that's all."

Neji pulled her in toward him and they kissed again for the second time. It was longer than the first and just as sweet. Tenten felt the same thrill of excitement. She was aware that they were standing in the middle of the street, but she figured that if Neji didn't care, then she shouldn't either.

"Your hand is freezing though," Neji said when they broke apart. "We're almost to Sakura's house. We'll see if she has hot chocolate there."

"Hmm, I love hot chocolate," Tenten said as they started to walk again. Then she remembered what she always had wondered. "Neji, aren't _you_ ever cold? You're not even wearing a jacket." She slid him a sideways glance and saw that he had smiled at the question.

"A family secret, Tenten," he said mysteriously, and she scowled playfully at him.

Then they got to Sakura's house and found a surprise waiting for them at the door.

Tenten tore her eyes from the kissing couple after a few shocked seconds to see that Neji was biting his lip, trying very hard not to laugh out loud. He caught Tenten's eye and could immediately see that his new girlfriend was about to do something very devilish.

"Told you they'd be under the mistletoe!" Tenten stated _very_ loudly. Startled, Ino and Shikamaru disconnected in quite a hurry. Ino was so startled in fact, that she lost her balance and slipped on the icy step. She and Shikamaru went down in a flurry of chaos, much like the episode earlier in the day with the vexing ribbon. Tenten and Neji burst out laughing.

"What can I say?" Tenten joked to Neji as they walked to the door, their path now unobstructed. "History repeats itself." Then Neji opened the door and the two of them nearly landed next to Ino and Shikamaru, the music was still playing so loud.

"What moron turned the volume up so much?" Neji said in a daze as he let the door swing closed again. "Does he want all of us to go deaf?"

"Yes," Tenten, Ino, and Shikamaru all answered at the same time.

Suddenly the door swung open from the inside and Kiba stuck his head out the door. His face was complete confusion as he looked at Ino and Shikamaru, sprawled in the snow at his feet, and Neji and Tenten, holding hands. All of them seemed to have surprised looks on their faces. From what he could not imagine. They looked like a loud noise had just exploded nearby.

"What are you all doing out there? Come in and join the fun!"

* * *

**A/N: Eh, I'm not too satisfied with the ending, but here it is! An extra chapter! I feel bad leaving Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke out, but I've got no ideas for them. Ayla Silverfang, I almost wanted to use your idea and have the Sand siblings come stumbling in (how funny would that be??), but it seemed like too much work (hehe, Shikamaru moment). Maybe I'll do that later. Because who said you can't have Christmas cheer and spirit after Christmas, eh?**

**YAY! Thanks for all my reviewers. Sorry for being so misleading about ending the story. Maybe you should keep an eye on this story after all. Hehe...**

**Until next time!**

**(-sends more love and gingerbread man cookies-  
Happy holidays!)**


	5. Witty Bickering

**A/N and a disclaimage: And just when you think it's over, IT'S NOT! This is the much demanded SasuSaku and it's not terrifically in character (all of the characters are slowing getting out of character and as a result, I am slowly getting worried), but it's the best I could do. And I do realize the holidays are over, but really, who cares? Christmas in January, that's what I say!**

**Thank you tons for the feedback on last chapter. I'm glad so many people love this story. c: I hope I get feedback again (especially to tell me if Sasuke was anything close to the _actual _Sasuke). Thank you for all my readers. You guys are the bomb-diggity. So...read the chapter and enjoy.****  
**

** Oh, and I do not own the song "Stoppin' the Love" by KT Tunstall. But I do love the song. Very, very much. Especially in this scene. For those of you that have the song, listen to it while reading. And for those of you that don't have the song...I feel very sorry for you.**

**Until next time...! (With a NaruHina, muahaha.)  
**

* * *

**.:a snickerdoodle add on.:  
**-five-

Sakura held her breath. Actually, her ears were ringing, so she didn't know if she really was holding her breath, but it sure didn't feel like she was breathing. All of this was so for two reasons:

1. Someone had finally turned down the music, which had been blaring for probably a full five minutes. This was a relief, as her ears were just beginning to feel like they would start bleeding from the loud noise. The ringing came from the leftover airwaves of the loud music, now turned down to a still audible, but more manageable volume.

2. A certain Uchiha (really keeps things vague) was looking for her, and she had crawled in behind the Christmas tree a few feet away from the door as a place of hiding. It was placed in a corner, so she was crouched in the space it made with the two walls coming together behind her.

She had been blasted with a gust of cold, cold air a few moments earlier, when Kiba had decided to open the stupid door. Stupid idiot. In walked a smiling Tenten and a (dare she say) smiling Neji. That was odd. And what was odder: they were holding hands.

Okay…

Something obviously happened between them.

And then, the big shocker: Ino and Shikamaru walked in. Okay, it wasn't a _big_ shocker, but it made Sakura wonder what they had been doing outside…together. They were shouting at each other about one thing or the other while walking in, not at all as cute and cuddly as Tenten and Neji (she still couldn't get over the fact that Neji had smiled), but anyone with a half a brain could tell that they definitely liked each other.

And that sparks had ignited between them...finally.

And that left Sakura. Poor, lonely Sakura. Oh, of course, there was Hinata, but come on. Hinata? She was so shy that when _any_ guy said hello, even a _child_, she'd blush and stammer. At least, that was Sakura's impression. So the fact that Hinata was the only other girl that was boyfriendless did not make Sakura feel any better.

True, over the years, the priority of getting a boyfriend had diminished to almost nothing. Being a ninja wasn't just a walk in the park, after all, and it didn't leave her copious amounts of spare time to flirt with attractive boys. No, every bit of spare time saw her training her ass off, which meant spare time was work time, which meant there was no spare time at all.

But it did help when the village hottie was on her team.

Sakura sighed involuntarily, her head leaning back against the corner the two walls made. Uchiha Sasuke, the untouchable. He was cold, at times colder than what Sakura had seen and heard of Neji (how the HELL did Tenten get him to smile??). He didn't give out smiles easily. He didn't give out praise at all. And he never stuck around with her when so-called "spare time" arose. He always disappeared, probably going elsewhere to train alone, leaving her stuck with annoying Naruto who begged and begged with all his might to train with her.

She had long ago given up flirting with him and had given up talking with him as well. He wasn't one of many words, unlike her other hyperactive teammate. The days when Sakura had desperately clung to Sasuke—hoping for a smile, a word, or even a sweeping glance—had melted into her embarrassing past. She was above that now. She had her own pride and her own ego (of course, it was nowhere _near_ Sasuke's in magnitude). She had even caught herself recently downgrading Sasuke, insulting him viciously in her mind.

Because he was always the star, and she was always the stupid backup. Sasuke would always engage the enemy first, and then Sakura would be sent in if he failed. Which he never did. So she ever got sent in. And she never got to prove herself. Not even _to _herself.

That was her problem. She was never good enough. Naruto and Sasuke would go down in history, and she'd stay home and read about them.

These thoughts made her hate the world sometimes.

But then, the sound of _his_ voice jerked her away from her thoughts. "Hey Kiba, have you seen Sakura around here?" _He's looking for me. Uchiha Sasuke is looking for **me**._

That was a sobering thought, if anything. The question made Sakura smile. For such a long time, she'd been chasing after him, for both his heart and his amazing talent and technique. But now…look who was chasing whom?

"No, I don't think I saw her," Kiba replied, sounding like he was pondering the question very seriously. Sakura suppressed a giggle. She had been amazed when someone had had the audacity to hit her with a pillow going full speed. She had picked herself up and placed her hands on her hips, scanning the room for the culprit that was about to get the snot beat out of him. And then she had found Uchiha Sasuke, standing there on the other side of the room, looking very smug and looking _right_ at her.

"Don't tell me you threw that," she had yelled at him through the din with a big smile, not daring to believe that he had. _Stop kidding yourself, Sakura. It's too good to be true._

Sasuke had shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

Sakura had sighed. _Typical._ "You'll regret it if you did," she called back and turned to walk away. Then another pillow hit her, right in the small of her back and she nearly toppled over. She managed to catch herself, a hand whipping out to grip the back of the couch to regain balance. Then she pivoted back around, this time her eyes snapping directly to Sasuke. He looked at her innocently.

"What?" he asked her. She shook her head, forcing down a smile, and turned again.

But she didn't turn all the way. And this time the attacker acted too hastily. A pillow hit her in the side and she whipped her head around to find Sasuke still retracting from the throw into his casual, nonchalant stance. He had looked and saw that she had seen and scowled. "You're dead meat," she yelled at him, scooping up the pillow he had just thrown at her.

Sasuke had grabbed another pillow from the couch in front of him. "You've got it backwards, Sakura," he had replied, starting to walk slowly toward her. "_You're _dead meat."

Then Sakura had promptly flung the pillow she was holding at him, and ran.

She hadn't thought he'd take the trouble to follow. But he had. And now they were here: her behind a Christmas tree and him asking Kiba for directions. From this scenario, one could clearly see who the smarter of the two was (psst, it's Sakura).

"You don't see her?" Sasuke's voice inquired in disbelief. "I do. My sharingan tells me she's hiding right there behind that Christmas tree."

_Shit!_

"She is?"

Sakura immediately straightened up, not caring if it shook the Christmas tree excessively. Then she started to remove herself from behind it quickly, lifting up one foot to clear it of the branches…

"Gotcha."

A warm hand close around her right wrist and she knew she was caught. She turned her head to see Sasuke smiling at her smugly. She frowned. "The sharingan can't see through solid objects," she said.

"Yeah, I was lying. But I could still see you. You chose a lousy hiding spot."

Sakura huffed. "Whatever."

Over the stereo system, a bass drum thumped to a slower beat than the previous loud guitar ridden song. It was soothing and helped Sakura to relax a little. Yeah, so Sasuke was talking to her, and he was chasing after her, and his hand was on her wrist. But she couldn't panic. She had to hold her nervousness down.

_So you think it's funny  
That you've been calling me  
All of the time  
Everyday_

She had to do so even more when Sasuke squeezed in behind the Christmas tree next to her. She stared at him in shock and surprise. "What do you think you are doing?"

"What do you think _you_ are doing?" he retorted, his signature smug look still in place. Now it was even more uncomfortable behind the Christmas tree, as they both were stuck behind it.

"I'm hiding from you," she pointed out. His slight, smug smile never wavered.

"Well, that's getting harder, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," she said, rolling her eyes.

_Oh, honey  
Don't want to be following  
Falling behind  
If you're gonna be walking away_

"I've got another thing you could be doing," Sasuke said smoothly. He had let go of her wrist, but she didn't know if that was good thing or a bad thing. For one, it made not being nervous a little easier.

_Giving you the most passionate kiss of your life? _"What could I be doing? Enlighten me," Sakura said calmly, despite her thoughts and emotions. Inner Sakura was practically going nuts right about now. Sasuke and Sakura's shoulders were stuck together due to the lack of space behind the Christmas tree. But Sakura wasn't complaining.

For some reason, she was acting quite cool. Cooler than usual. She usually didn't have such a big arsenal of witty retorts as she did now. Maybe Sasuke brought out the best in her. Or the worst, depending on how you looked at it.

"You could be thinking up a plan…to steal Kiba's dog."

"What?"

_And I don't know why I couldn't follow  
Wouldn't follow  
You got me looking up  
Even when I'm falling down  
You got me crawling out of my skin_

Sasuke's smile widened a fraction of an inch. "Wouldn't it be funny to see that idiot's face?"

Sakura sighed. Normally she always thought of Sasuke as the mature one. That image of him had abruptly died. "What is the point of this, exactly?" she asked, getting irritated with her teammate.

"Getting even," he replied without thinking. Then his face seemed to blanch a little, his smile becoming frozen in place as he realized what he had said.

"Getting even?" she asked, curious. _Now_ things were getting interesting. "What did he ever do to you?"

"Why do you care?" Sasuke snapped at her. Sakura flinched in spite of herself. Sasuke's tone had changed so quickly that it was frightening. "It'd be hilarious, don't you think?" he corrected himself quickly. Sakura turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised and started to question his sanity.

"Yeah, hilarious," she said flatly, obviously being sarcastic.

"And you know what?" Sasuke continued, "I've already got a plan."

"Well aren't you special?"

Sasuke ignored her little remark and leaned in closer to her, his breath brushing her cheek. She froze, feeling the nervousness creep up her body like little icy fingers that made her shiver. "Here's what we're going to do…"

_You got me wondering why  
I am underneath this big old sky  
Stoppin' the loving getting in  
Well, I'm stoppin' the loving getting in_

"You're crazy," Sakura stated after Sasuke had finished whispering it to her. He shook his head and pushed her a little, as if it was the jumpstart she needed.

"Just do it," he whispered into her ear, causing Sakura to feel the nervousness climb a little higher in her body. She swallowed and made her way out from behind the Christmas tree. Sasuke did the same in the other direction and then left the area.

Sakura straightened out her red dress and brushed pine needles from her body. Then she combed her fingers through her beautiful pink hair and cleared her throat. Kiba was sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall, and playing with Akamaru who was growling happily at his master. He didn't even notice her standing there a little bit away from him. She cleared her throat again, a little louder this time and then looked away, as if she hadn't been doing it on purpose.

"Hey, Sakura," Kiba said, calling her to attention. She looked up at him, as if surprised he was there. "I thought you were hiding behind that Christmas tree there." From his face, it was obvious that he was trying very hard not to laugh at that idea. Sakura made a face at him.

"Yeah, I was, but then Sasuke invaded my hiding place."

Kiba finally couldn't hold it in any longer, laughing heartily. "But I thought you liked Sasuke," he said when he finished.

Sakura looked down at her feet. "Yeah, I _did._ But I think I kind of like somebody else now."

_Now_ Kiba was interested. "Oh, yeah?" he asked, his attempt to mask the slight excitement in his voice not working. "And who would that be?"

_Now you say it's easy  
That you've been falling for  
All of my charm  
And getting lost in my smile_

Sakura made a face at Kiba again, warming up to the task she was given. "I'm not telling _you_," she said, her voice getting playful.

"Why not?" Kiba prompted, smiling at her.

"Um…because…" she said, pretending to be a little flustered with the conversation. She looked at her feet again, as if she couldn't meet his eyes.

"That's not a reason. Tell me. I won't tell anyone else, I promise."

Sakura looked up at him, making sure to look like she was considering his offer. "Okay, I guess," she said slowly, as if the decision was a very hard one to make. "But I'm not going to yell it across the entryway."

"Then come over here then," Kiba said to her, obviously starting to flirt. Inner Sakura sighed and laughed at his pathetic attempt. Real Sakura smiled cutely.

"No. You have to come over here."

Kiba sighed, as if this was a tremendous task. "Fine," he said, getting up and picking up Akamaru from the floor.

"You have to leave Akamaru though."

"Why?" Kiba asked incredulously. "He's not going to tell anyone."

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "I don't really like dogs."

"Oh, okay," Kiba said, and then turned to put Akamaru down, saying to him, "I'll be right back, okay?"

Sakura watched as Kiba grinned and then walked toward her. Inside, she was squirming with discomfort. Where Sasuke had come up with a plan like this really baffled her. It was common knowledge that Sakura had about the biggest crush in history on Sasuke, and he still had managed to force her to flirt with somebody else. Man, he was a world-class jerk-off.

_Never ceases to amaze me  
When I'm chancing my arm  
That I still do it with style_

"So, who is it?" Kiba asked when he was standing right in front of Sakura. She smiled indulgently, but really she was watching over Kiba's shoulder as Sasuke crept up and snatched Akamaru away, covering the dog's mouth to keep him from barking.

"Umm…" Sakura uttered, buying time. Sasuke had turned and was sneaking away with Akamaru. As soon as he was out of sight, she could stop this ridiculous game she was playing with Kiba. But he never did make it all the way out of sight. Akamaru opened his mouth and bit Sasuke's hand as hard as he could.

"OW, shit!" Sasuke swore loudly, letting go of the white dog. Akamaru yapped as loudly as he could, which made Kiba turn around and see Sasuke holding his hand that was throbbing in pain. Then he pieced all the puzzle pieces together.

"Sasuke, what do you think you are doing?" he said accusingly, quickly striding towards his prized dog companion.

"Getting even," Sasuke snapped back, examining the hand that been hurt.

"For what I said earlier?" Kiba countered with a grin almost as smug as Sasuke's. That was quite a feat.

Sasuke's face darkened and he flipped Kiba off while he stalked back over to where Sakura was leaning on the wall. Sakura was scowling at him, a reprimand waiting on her tongue.

_And now I hope you'll be with me tomorrow  
With me tomorrow  
You got me looking up  
Even when I'm falling down  
You got me crawling out of my skin_

"That wasn't very nice," she stated as soon as he got within hearing difference. Sasuke shrugged, continuing with the examination of his hand. "Here, let me see that," she said without thinking, reaching out and taking hold of his pale hand. She only realized what she was doing when she was looking at it. And then she tried very hard to keep her nervousness down, which had started building up again.

"You'll be fine. It's not life threatening," she teased as she gave Sasuke his hand back. "But I'm pretty sure your revenge mission failed."

He scowled and looked up at the ceiling. "Yep."

"What exactly _did_ Kiba say to you to get you so riled up?"

And then a crazy thing happened.

Uchiha Sasuke blushed.

_You got me wondering why  
I am underneath this big old sky  
Stoppin' the loving getting in_

It wasn't a full out raging blush like the ones that Sakura was prone to give into. But it was there still. And she just had to remark on it, because it was just begging to be made fun of. "Are you blushing?"

"No," Sasuke said immediately. He looked around discreetly and saw that Kiba was still leering at them from a little ways away. "Come on," he muttered, grabbing Sakura's wrist again and pulling her away from her wall. They marched away from Kiba and Akamaru, going up the stairs to where, Sakura suddenly realized, no one else was. Everyone else was probably in the living room again, the pillow fight having finally died down.

And Sasuke was pulling them away from all that.

She was going to be alone. With him.

_Stoppin' the loving getting in  
Oh yes, I'm stoppin' the loving getting in_

"What are you doing?" she demanded of Sasuke. The tone of her voice suggested that she didn't like this, when in fact she kind of did. But she was nervous about it.

"Getting away from that moron," Sasuke stated firmly, dragging her farther down the hallway until it dead-ended. Then he dropped her wrist and stopped, leaning against the wall.

"And what exactly did that moron do?" Sakura prompted, staying a respectable distance away from him. She liked him, of course, but she wasn't about to go back to her clingy ways.

"He…uh…" Now it was Sasuke that was flustered. And his flustering was real, unlike Sakura's acting with Kiba. He couldn't meet Sakura's eye and looked at the carpet below his feet instead. "He…found out who I had feelings for and then made fun of me for it."

Sakura's eyebrows shot way up. _Now_ she was REALLY interested. "Well, that's rude," she said.

"I know!" Sasuke immediately agreed with her. "That jerk-off. He kept on making fun of me for not doing anything about it, as if _he_ was going around asking out every single girl he saw on a daily basis." Sakura giggled at Sasuke's words and Sasuke started to smile as well. "That moron," he scoffed, his smugness coming back to him.

Sakura kept smiling at him, but she was really hoping that he would say more. Like…oh, say whom he had feelings for. But no such luck. Instead, Sasuke turned the whole thing around on her. Typical.

"So, I heard Kiba say you liked me when you were trying to seduce him," he said casually. Sakura's face instantly fell into a frown.

"I'm sure you did and I'm sure you already _knew_ that. I still do like you, jerk," she said, glaring at him. Might as well admit it; it wasn't that big of a secret anymore.

And it was nice to admit it too. Because suddenly Sakura didn't feel nervous anymore. She'd confessed and now had nothing to hide. All she could do now was wait to see where things took her.

_You got me looking up  
Even when I'm falling down  
You got me crawling out of my skin_

"Whoa, hostility," Sasuke commented, his smug (Sakura was starting to hate that adjective) smile widening slightly. "You were pretty flirtatious with him though. It was kind of funny to watch."

"_Funny?_ It was _funny?_" Sakura said, pretending to be insulted. "Oh, now I'm leaving you." She turned to walk away, but Sasuke's voice called her back. She hadn't been planning on leaving anyway, not when she had him all to herself.

"That's not the right word for it. How about…interesting?" Sakura turned around slowly to face him, watching his black, black eyes roam from her feet up to her face, taking her in slowly. She could feel a tingling warmth wash through her.

"What was so interesting about it?" she said softly.

"That's what I'd like to find out," Sasuke said with a suave grin. "Come here."

_You got me wondering why  
I am underneath this big old sky  
Stoppin' the loving getting in_

As soon as she got within range, he reached out and took her hand, pulling her toward him. They didn't waste time with anymore words. As if that was the intended target all along, their lips found each other and started to relieve all the tension they had been feeling all party long. They didn't even notice the sprig of mistletoe above their heads, where Neji and Tenten had stood awkwardly just minutes before. They were honoring the tradition without even knowing it.

And they were honoring it passionately. When they broke apart, Sasuke's lips traveling down to kiss Sakura's neck, Sakura was breathing heavily. She closed her eyes and sighed happily. He was what she had been waiting for since forever ago. And she had finally gotten it, gotten him. It felt so good.

Sasuke's kisses moved from her neck to her cheekbone to her smooth cheek and back to her soft lips. He was smirking inwardly the whole time. _Take that, Kiba, _he thought in satisfaction, finally getting his revenge, _take that._

**(kiss)**

"Where's Sakura and Sasuke?" Ino asked no one in particular. She was curled up on a couch in the living room right up against Shikamaru's muscular body. One of his arms was lying casually on the back of the couch, barely brushing her shoulders.

"Who cares?" Shikamaru replied nonchalantly. He still couldn't believe his luck in getting Yamanaka Ino. Although her constantly asking where Sasuke was worried him a little. He decided to reclaim her attention. "Hey, Ino," he said.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning to face him. He leaned toward her and captured her lips in his, not really caring anymore who saw them. She made a little noise of surprise but soon enough she was content with the whole business.

Tenten and Neji, who were curled up together on the other couch didn't notice them at all. Neji was busy taunting Tenten with a chocolate truffle. He kept on letting it get near her mouth and then jerking it away when she tried to eat it. "Neji," she whined cutely, "stop it. You know I love chocolate."

"Your point?" Neji asked, smirking.

"Ugh," Tenten complained, leaning into Neji and placing her head on his chest. "I give up."

After that, of course, Neji _had _to give her the chocolate. He placed it into her mouth carefully, getting a happy smile as a reward and looked around contentedly. It was getting late and soon they'd all probably have to get going. Still, he really didn't want to leave. Not now.

Then, with his practiced ninja observational skills, he noticed someone was missing. Actually, two someones that should definitely be around here because he highly doubted they would sneak off to somewhere else, as he and Tenten had…

"Where's Naruto and Hinata?"


	6. Love Sparkling

**.:a candy cane add on:.  
**-six-

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Hinata was busy fearing for her life.

Because she was being dragged by a certain blonde-haired, hyperactive ninja in scathing orange clothing. And she was being dragged at a very fast speed.

And just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped and she nearly collided into that same blonde-haired, hyperactive ninja. She ended up rocking back to sit smack dab on her butt, her head spinning and her breathing coming fast and quick.

They were in dim hallway and scrunched in the shadows. They could see half of the front door from where they were and the entrance into the living room. All chaos was currently taking place there, sounding like a pack of animals that had escaped from their exhibits at the zoo. While they took a moment (thankfully) to catch their breath, Hinata saw a streak of red and pink fly past at top speed. _Sakura?_ She half expected Rock Lee to go sprinting after her in his lively bright green jumpsuit. But no, it was a blur of blue and black that followed.

_Sasuke?_

Hinata looked nervously at Naruto, wondering if he had saw what was going on with his teammates. His head was leaning against the wall, his eyes were closed, and he was focused on breathing slowly. He looked so nice and peaceful like that. She could feel her cheeks light up, and then start to burn when she realized that his warm hand was still firmly attached to her small cold one.

"N-Naruto…what are we doing?" she decided to ask after a while. As much as she was enjoying the moment, she was still curious.

His eyes opened slowly, revealing beautiful sky blue irises. Hinata looked up at him, completely enraptured. "I needed to recruit someone to be on my side." His eyes slid down to look at the girl by his side. "And I decided you were perfect for the job," he said, grinning.

Hinata hardly thought that "recruit" was the right word for what he did. (Perhaps "hijack" would suit it better?) But she wasn't complaining. She looked down at his shirt, her cheeks a cute pink.

Naruto turned away from her and looked out into the living room. "Now what I want to do requires stealth and expert timing, okay, Hinata?" Hinata nodded obsequiously, even though he wasn't looking in her direction. "Now, my plan…" Naruto said, straining his head to see as much of the living room as possible, "…is for us to attack Shino."

"Attack Shino?" Hinata was surprised at that one. Naruto sure _was _full of surprises…

Naruto grinned. "Sure. He's been so quite this whole time that it's only natural we'd want to rouse him up a bit. You know, get him to join the party."

"But, N-Naruto…what would we use to attack him?"

"Pillows, of course," Naruto said, holding up in his other hand a plump green pillow that Hinata hadn't noticed until just now. She looked at it nervously and then looked into his smiling face. She usually didn't chance looking directly at Naruto, especially when he might be looking at her, but she was feeling more agitated than usual about this "plan" of his.

Naruto saw her expression and his grin widened. "Come on, Hinata. Don't worry. We're not going to actually _hurt_ him. We'll just pummel him a little. Throw him for a loop. Catch him off balance. It'll be fun."

"O-Okay," she stuttered, completely not convinced. Naruto, she noticed, was really not persuasive when it actually counted. But she even knew herself that she'd probably do anything for him. So, she couldn't complain.

Although she still didn't particularly like this let's-gang-up-and-attack-your-teammate get up. It was obviously something Naruto would do, but Hinata? No, Hinata would rather just stand in a quiet corner and watch.

"Okay, so you stay here," Naruto said, letting go of her hand and giving the green pillow over to her. "I don't see Shino right now, so I'll assume that he's in the bathroom. I'll go back into the living room and get a pillow and pretend to be doing something else. Then, when he appears, watch for my signal. I'll…uh…pull on the collar of this sweater a little bit." Naruto demonstrated the action and then waited for Hinata to nod. "When you see me do that, run and attack Shino and I'll do the same. Hopefully, we'll get him from two sides." Hinata nodded some more, and couldn't help but think that even Choji could have thought up a better attack plan than that. Naruto sure _was _a unique individual.

"All right, I'm off," he said. Then he got up and left.

Hinata felt nervous as she edged herself over to the corner so that she could lean out and peek over into the living room. Naruto and her had never been a "team" before and although this probably didn't even qualify as a "team" she felt like it was. She couldn't let him down. She would have to focus. She'd have to show, even in this small and ridiculous scenario, that she was somebody he could count on.

She sighed a little. Why was it that she liked him so much? It was beyond all human comprehension. She couldn't even explain it herself. But maybe the gist of it was that he was so much different than her. He was on the completely opposite side of the spectrum and that was what she strived to be. He was almost like her role model. She wanted to be able to be noisy and rowdy and play practical jokes on people and even just _get in trouble_ for once in her life and not have to always play at being perfect.

But she did. And truthfully, she didn't know how to act to be all those things she wanted to be. So she stuck with what she did know how to do. Playing perfect.

Maybe here was her chance to change that a little, though. Maybe she could discover _how_ to be that noisy, rowdy, practical joke playing, troublemaker Hinata. She smiled at the thought. Oh, then she remembered that first she had to pay attention to Naruto to do that.

She peeked out from behind her dark corner just in time to watch Shino walk out of the bathroom. Hey, so Naruto had been right about that, at least. Hinata's eyes traveled from Shino to the boy in the bright orange. He was playing with a pillow in his hands, his eyes on that and not looking up at all. But she knew that he knew that Shino was there, waiting to get pounced on.

And she knew that where Shino was right now _would_ mean that he got attacked on both sides. Hey, maybe Hinata had underestimated Naruto's intellect, as so many people had before in the past.

And then she saw Naruto pull his collar. And she gulped.

She felt really bad about attacking Shino right after he had walked out of the bathroom, but she had to. To prove to herself that she could change, she told herself.

In a moment, she was out from behind the corner and running at a full sprint for Shino. She caught a glimpse of Naruto doing the same thing from the other side. She braced herself, brought back the pillow, and then swung it for all she was worth…

A few seconds later, she fell hard on the floor, smack dab on her butt again. She winced and then shook her head, trying to clear things up. _What happened?_ Why was she on her butt and not Shino?

She looked over at her teammate. And he was crouching, nice-as-you-please, looking from her to Naruto back to her and back to Naruto. He had ducked. He had seen it coming and ducked. And Naruto and Hinata had ended up whacking each other.

Didn't Hinata say to herself that this really wouldn't work from the very beginning?

"Oh, HEY!" Naruto cut in, his voice indignant. "That wasn't fair. You can't go around ducking like that." He rubbed the small of his back. That fall had _really_ hurt.

"Can't I?" Shino asked him softly, looking over at him with his sunglasses. Naruto huffed in frustration and got up, throwing the pillow he had used to attack behind him.

"You're no fun. I'm going to go find…hey, look I see Sakura and Sasuke over there." And with that Naruto started to walk away.

Hinata felt like her heart just broke a little. She looked very downcast and she picked herself up off the floor, grabbing the pillow next to her and clutching it tight in her arms. It wasn't fair. Why was Sakura so much more attractive than she was? Sakura didn't even like Naruto and often made that loudly clear, but he still followed her around like a puppy dog. Why couldn't Hinata exude that kind of irresistible charm?

She sighed. Loud. And slowly.

"Go after him, Hinata."

Huh? She turned around and looked at her calm and impassive teammate, who now was standing up as well. His face was turned toward her. "Nothing will ever happen if you wait for him," he continued.

Hinata took a moment to orient herself. Wait a minute, Shino was giving her advice about Naruto? Really? She never would have thought that would happen. Before she could react, he had reached over and taken the pillow from her arms. "Here, I'll help you get started." And with that, he chucked the pillow right for the back of Naruto's head.

"Shino, what are you…" but he was already gone. Disappeared. Hinata looked around, in a panic. _Oh no, Naruto will think I threw the pillow and then he'll get angry and…oh, why couldn't we just have let Shino alone in the first place??_

"Hinata." That would be Naruto, calling her to her doom. She looked over at him slowly, not wanting to respond. "Did you throw that pillow at me?"

"Um…n-no," she said, looking up at him meekly. She was telling the truth, but it sounded awfully like she was lying.

But amazingly enough, Naruto was smiling. At her. He was smiling at her. "Yeah, you did, didn't you? Don't lie to me."

Hinata was taken aback for a moment. So Naruto really was interested in her? It just took a pillow to the back of the head to make her realize it? She was really confused now. She didn't know whether to hate Shino or to thank him later. "I'm not lying," she said quietly, smiling in spite of her insecurity.

Naruto grinned and stooped to pick up the pillow that was lying at his feet. "Hinata, you are a terrible liar." Then he threw the pillow back at her. It came straight for her head.

Out of instinct, she flinched back and the pillow missed her face by inches. She turned to look at Naruto and found him charging at her, a wild grin plastered onto his face. "I'm going to get you!" he yelled. Hinata screamed and ran.

They flew all over the house. Hinata started to smile as she ran, realizing that she really would have to thank Shino later. This was what he meant. _"Go after him, Hinata."_ Well, _he_ was now going after _her_…but regardless. She had to take the first step. And now that she did (or rather, Shino did for her), things were looking up.

_Up._ What a good idea. She needed to find somewhere to hide from Naruto, to make him come look for her. She had no doubts that he would give up, as he wasn't a quitter. And what better place for hiding than the rooftop?

Suddenly, she felt something collide into her from behind. "GOTCHA!" Naruto yelled in triumph, his arms wrapping around her tightly. Immediately she could feel her face burning as she pressed into him. The room started to go dizzy. _I'm touching Naruto…we're so close…_

She ducked underneath the circle his arms made around her and slipped out of his grasp, then doubled back and started running the way they'd come. "HEY! GET BACK HERE!" she heard Naruto shout after her but she didn't look back. Her hair flying behind her, she turned the corner and found what she had passed before: the backdoor.

She yanked it open and shot outside, the freezing air hitting her full in the face. She could hear the door bang shut again behind her and knew that she didn't have much time before Naruto came out here himself. Giving a small shiver, she ran toward the wall and started to climb.

**(give)**

Neji hadn't been lying. Seeming to be immune to the cold was a family secret. Hinata sat on the rooftop and looked across the other surrounding rooftops nearby, already used to the cold that had made her shiver a couple minutes ago. She could see the mountain with the Hokages' faces carved into it. She smiled at them. The sight of them always inspired her to do her best in everything she tried. So she repaid them by trying to be extra polite whenever she acknowledged them.

She knew it was foolish, as it was just a huge chunk of rock she was acknowledging, but that was only in reality. That chunk of rock seemed to hold a deeper meaning for her. A deeper meaning that she held close and dear to her heart…

"I…found…you…"

She turned and there was Naruto, panting and standing triumphantly on the other side of the roof. Immediately, she felt her face flush probably a vibrant crimson. Her plan had worked. There he was.

"It only took you forever," Hinata said to him quietly, something that she never thought she'd have the guts to say. She gave him a small smile. Naruto's blue eyes widened. That was something knew. He never thought she'd have said that either.

"Yeah, well, I still found you. You picked a pretty cruddy hiding spot, considering how out in the open it is." Naruto walked to where Hinata was and sat beside her, looking across the sea of rooftops as well.

"I picked a cruddy hiding spot and it still took you forever," Hinata then said. She was shocked but pleasantly so. What was helping her form these words? She was just teasing him, of course, but that was the thing. She _never_ teased people. Except for, maybe, Kiba. Usually she'd just bow her head and say something complacent or complimenting. But she never _teased._

She liked this new her. She could get used to it. Definitely.

"Psh, whatever. I bet it would have taken you forever too," Naruto countered, scoffing and waving it away with his hand. He had a grin on his face, though, which Hinata took to be a good sign. She smiled too, and fixed her eyes ahead. They both stared at the chiseled Hokage faces in silence.

"I _will_ be Hokage one day," Naruto then said after a while, almost like he was reassuring it to himself. Hinata looked over and saw that familiar fierce look of determination she so loved. She couldn't help but smile lovingly at him, placing her chin on her arms that were wrapped around her drawn up knees.

"I believe you," she said.

Naruto looked over at her, a little astonishment in his eyes. "You do?"

"I've believed you since the very moment I heard first you say it, Naruto," answered Hinata, amazed herself at how her voice was steady, but soft, and how she hadn't stuttered yet. It made her feel good inside, more confident, like she could do anything at that moment and it would go right. It would be a success.

"Wow," Naruto looked away, his voice carrying off. His eyes blinked slowly for a while as he thought this over, and then a gentle smile spread across his face. "Thanks." Hinata felt a warm glow spread inside her. After another moment of peaceful silence, he said: "What is your goal, Hinata? No matter what it is, I promise I'll support you and believe in you." His eyes turned soft and caring and his smile was friendly. Hinata could feel her heart ache.

"I…I don't really know…" she said after a while, looking down at the rooftop of the house in front of them. Actually, she did know. But there were so many things she strived to do that she didn't know which to say. She wanted to become stronger and a better ninja, hopefully one day to the point where she'd rival Neji. She wanted to have less fears and reserves, to be herself more, to be more open. She wanted to be able to be wild like Sakura and Ino and Tenten. And she wanted most of all to tell Naruto that she loved him.

But she couldn't say any of these, of course. She was afraid to.

But that was exactly what she didn't want. She wanted to have _less_ fears. Not more.

As she mucked through this mental dilemma, snow started to fall. She looked up with her pale eyes and faced up to the dark sky. The snowflakes brushed against her cheek and melted on her forehead. Naruto shivered and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. "Gosh," he commented, his voice starting to audibly shake, "aren't you cold Hinata? I'm freezing."

"Oh, you are?" Hinata asked, coming out of her thoughts in a bit of a daze.

Naruto stood up and stamped his feet a little. "Yes. I don't see how you can't be. I'm going to go inside now. You coming?"

Hinata could feel her heart sink. Here had been the perfect opportunity to confess. To tell him what she was feeling and finally just put it out there, no matter what he said or did. And then she had let it slip away. The girl of lost opportunities. That was her.

She got up as Naruto started to walk to the side of the roof. She stood still and watched his back, retreating from her step by step. And she was struck by how similar this was to when they had been inside the house and Naruto was walking away from her after the failed attempt to ambush Shino. And she remembered how Shino had surprised her with the words, _"Go after him, Hinata. Nothing will ever happen if you wait for him."_ And she realized that she must follow his advice. It was now or never more.

"Naruto!" she called, starting to walk toward him. He turned, an expectant expression on his face. Hinata took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. _Confidence. Exude confidence NOW. You are confident…_ "I know what my goal is now."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto asked her with a smile. He turned to fully face her now, still shivering but more interested in what she had to say. Hinata took a happy breath. "And what is it?"

"To tell the boy I like that I like him," she said before she could stop herself. She stopped, now right in front of Naruto. She looked up into his face and saw him nod thoughtfully.

"Ohh, I see. Well, I don't see how I can help you with that, but I will do whatever I can to try. Tell me, who is he?" He leaned closer to her, a conspiratorial look on his face and his lips curved in a teasing smile. Hinata's heart nearly burst out of her chest. _I'm going to have a heart attack. Oh gosh, help me…_

Then she leaned forward and kissed him. Right on the lips.

For those couple of seconds, she was sure that her heart just stopped beating. Everything was completely silent.

Then she broke away from him, her cheeks burning, and her heartbeat returned, pounding against her ribs, threatening to break them. Naruto was staring at her, stunned and speechless. They looked into each other's eyes for a second before she flicked them toward the ground.

"Hinata…I…" Naruto started, obviously not able to find the words in his vocabulary to describe anything at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Hinata cut him off, staring hard at the rooftop that was now getting coated in a slight layer of new snow. "It was not my place. I…didn't think before I…"

"No, Hinata, stop," Naruto interrupted, his tone firm but gentle. He took hold of her chin and lifted it up so that her eyes were looking into his again. They studied each other intently for a while and all Hinata really wanted to do was to jerk away from those probing eyes and run far away. But she didn't. And then, after a while, Naruto said, "Why are you apologizing anyway? I said I'd do whatever I could to help, didn't I?" He smiled.

And then kissed her.

Hinata's heart stopped again. When he pulled back, she stared at him in shock. _Does he…like…me…?_

"Naruto…" she whispered, her voice a little more than a breath exhaled.

Then she fainted.

**(unwrap)**

"Naruto, what did you do to her?" Tenten growled at the blonde-haired ninja.

He pulled back, body language completely suggesting innocence. "I didn't do _anything!_" Which was a lie. But nobody else needed to know that. Heaven forbid…

Everyone was crowded around an unconscious Hinata that was lying on the living room couch. Tenten was bent over her, gently patting Hinata's cheeks in an effort to wake her up. It was very late by now and they all would probably be facing very angry parents when they trudged home from this unforgettable evening. Tenten frowned as she stared at her dainty best friend. Then she gasped and moved away when Hinata's eyelids fluttered and her eyebrows creased into a frown.

"She's waking up. Back up, everyone. Give her some breathing room." Tenten reached out her arms on both sides to push people back a little and when her left hand was coming back down, it brushed against Neji's. Immediately, he caught it and laced his fingers through hers, keeping their hands behind them where no one could see them. She smiled faintly, a thrill of pleasure running up her spine.

Hinata sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. "What…" she started to ask and then trailed off when she saw everyone staring at her. "Uh…h-hello…" she said tentatively, not knowing what to do. "W-What's going on?"

"You fainted," Sakura explained to her. Hinata noticed that Sasuke had one arm casually draped around Sakura's waist. One of Hinata's eyebrows rose slightly. "Naruto carried you in from outside."

"What were you two doing anyway?" Ino asked, giving Hinata a curious and suggestive glance. She wriggled her eyebrows and Hinata smiled, blushing. Everyone else gave little muffled giggles at the question. Hinata saw that Ino had one hand on her hip and the other connected to another hand. That belonged to Shikamaru, as it turned out. _So she did like him…_

"Yeah, Hinata. And what in the world made you faint?" Tenten questioned, the next one down the line. Hinata smiled at her best friend and then noticed how close Neji was standing next to her. She didn't notice any obvious signs of possessiveness, but they wouldn't have been standing that close together otherwise. They were crowded around her and hard pressed for space, but still…

Naruto scowled from where he was standing behind the couch. "Would you guys drop it already? It isn't that funny." Hinata looked over her shoulder at him and their eyes locked for an electrifying second.

"Yes it is," half the people in the room said in unison, laughing. They all started to wander then, getting jackets and coats, taking one last piece of chocolate or cookie. All the signs that it was time to leave. That the party was over. Bummer.

Hinata caught a glimpse of Tenten and Neji holding hands as they walked slowly toward the door. Ha, she was right.

Then she felt a hand on her own shoulder. She turned to see Naruto smiling down at her. "Wanna get some ramen with me tomorrow?" he asked her. She smiled back.

"Sure."

"You pigs, you made a mess of my house!" Sakura was calling as the last of the people left. Nobody cared though; they were busy calling last minute goodbyes to one another and going their separate ways. The rowdy, noisy Haruno household was finally quiet once again.

**(receive)**

"How'd you like the party?" Tenten asked Neji, walking close beside him as they neared her house.

"Eh, it was okay."

"Okay?!" she said, hitting him on the arm with her free hand. She saw him crack a little smile. "I know you enjoyed it. Admit it. Just admit it. You're not such a tough guy." They reached her door and she turned to face him defiantly, waiting for him to concede.

"I'm not going to go easy on you during training tomorrow," he stated flatly, looking down at her with his pale eyes.

"I wouldn't expect you too, Hyuuga," she countered. "You better watch your back."

His smile widened and she leaned into him for one last kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Ta da! And that's all folks! I'm all Christmas spirited out, so you'll just have to wait until next Christmas rolls around to get another Christmas story out of me.**

**Anyway, this particular chapter isn't too fabulous in my opinion, but I do like the ending. c: And now I've fulfilled what was requested and am ready to focus on my current ShikaIno fic and my forthcoming NejiTen fic. Yay for those!**

**THANK YOU SO SO MUCH TO ALL OF MY READERS/REVIEWERS. I cannot tell you how much I love you all. You're what make this site worth it, of course. So keep doing what you are doing and writing those fantabulous stories and reading those fantabulous stories. I salute you. -salutes-**

**I'm off to go read those other great stories I'm hooked on now. Teehee...**

**UNTIL NEXT TIME...!!**


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